Folding table



(No Model.)

B. P. BASSETT.

FOLDING TABLE.

Patented Nov. 8, 1892.

- INV%NT0/R WITNESSES WWW;

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD F. BASSETT, or SEYMOU CONNECTICUT- FOLDING TABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 485,855, dated November8, 1892.

Application filed y 2, 1892. Serial No. 431,394. on model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD F. BASSETT, a

. citizen of the United States, residing at Seymour, in the county ofNew Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Folding Tables; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

My invention has for its object to provide a folding table which may beeither square or round and which while retaining the folding principlemay be made sufliciently high fora card-table without making thelegsthemselves either jointed or extensible, it being essential in thisclass of tables that they shall be simple and inexpensive to produce,stand perfectly firm. when set up,be free from obstructions on the underside, so that card-players may sit with their knees under the table,and,furthermore, that the legs shall fold under the table compactly whenit is not in use. I am aware that oblong tables have heretofore beenmade with two legs at each end which folded together. These tables donot make satisfactory cardtables, however, it being desirable incard-tables that they should be either square or round.

In order to overcome the various objections to folding tables now uponthe market and to produce a folding table which shall be adapted forgeneral use and especially adapted for use as a card or game table, Ihave devised the novel folding table which I will now describe,referring by numbers to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in which Figure 1 is an inverted plan view of my noveltable, the legs being in the folded position; Fig. 2, an inverted planView, the legs being extended; and Fig. 3is a section on the line as win Fig. 2.

1 denotes the top of the table, which in the present instance I haveshown square with rounded corners.

2 denotes cleats around the edges, which I preferably use for thepurpose of bracing the top and also bracing the legs against lateralmovement when the table is set up, the lateral strainbeingtherebyremoved from the hinges.

3denotesindependentlegs,which are hinged at 4 on the under side of thetop diagonally opposite to each other, but slightly ofiset, as moreclearly shown in Fig. 1, so as to fold inward side by side, cleats 2being provided with recesses 5,which just receive the hinged ends of thelegs, and the legs being provided with shoulders 6, which rest upon thecleats, as shown in Fig. 3, when the table is set up. Each leg isprovided on opposite sides with spring-braces 7, which are preferablyformed from single pieces of wire and are held n place in the legs byplates 8, which permit the braces to turn freely when the legs are beingfolded or set up. The free ends of the braces are bent outward at anangle. forming lugs 9, which slide in grooves 10 in diagonally-arrangedplates 11, secured on the under side of the table. Plates 11 are alsoprovided with transverse holes 12, which are engaged by the lugs whenthe legs are at the set-up position, thereby locking the legs firmly inplace.

13 denotes guards on the under side of the top, which may or may not beused and which simply act to prevent the braces from being sprung inwardfar enough to disengage them from the grooves. Two of the legsdiagonally opposite to each other are provided at their mid-length withrecesses 14 on their inner sides, and the other two legs,which are alsodiagonally opposite to each other, are provided at their mid-length withrecesses 15 in their outer sides.

The operation is as follows: Suppose the table to be set up and that itis desired to fold the legs. The operator turns the table over, as inFig. 2, pressing the spring-braces 011 the two legs, having recesses ontheir outer sides, ininward sufficiently to disengage lugs 9 from holes12 and then folds said legs down to place, as in Fig. 1. The operatorthen presses the spring-braces on the other legs inward in the samemanner and folds them down over the legs first folded. As the recesses15 in the legs first folded lie upon the outer sides and the recesses 14lie upon the inner sides, it follows that said recesses will register atthe center of the top on the under side when all the legs are folded, asin Fig. 1, thus permit- .ting the legs to fold closely under the table,

the friction of the spring-braces against the bottoms of the grooves inplates 11 being sufficient to retain the legs in the folded position, sothat the table may be carried about without the slightest danger of thelegs swinging outward.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. The combination,in afolding table, ofa top, cleats surrounding the outer edge thereof, saidcleats being recessed on their inner sides, and independent legs hingedto said top and adapted to fit into said recesses when in uprightposition, said legs and recesses being diagonally placed and slightlyoffset to allow the legs to be folded side by side in pairs when not inuse, together with means for locking the same when in operativeposition, substantially as described.

2. The combination, in a folding table, of a top, cleats surrounding theouter edge thereof, said cleats being recessed on their inner sides, andindependent legs hinged to said top and having shoulders formed neartheir upper ends, said shouldered ends being adapted to engage said.recessed cleats when the legs are in upright position, said legs andrecesses being diagonally placed and slightly offset, so that thediagonally-oppositelegs will fold side by side in pairs, one diagonalpair of said legs being recessed on their outer sides about midway oftheir length and the other pair having similar recesses 011 their innersides, so that the two pairs of crossing legs will lie closely againstthe under side of the tabletop when in folded position, substantially asdescribed.

3. Afolding table consisting of a top having independent legs hingedthereto and arranged to fold inward in pairs from thediagonally-opposite corners thereof, said top being provided on itsunder side with diagonally-arrangedplates 11,provided with grooves 10and-transverse holes 12, and the said legs being provided with theoutwardly-springing braces 7, extending on both sides of each of saidlegs and having lugs 9 at their outer ends to engage said holes.

4.. A folding table consisting of a top, legs hinged diagonally oppositeeach other on the under side thereof, diagonally-arranged plates 11 onthe under side of the top, havinggrooves 10 and holes 12, andspring-braces on opposite sides of the legs, which are provided withlugs adapted to slide in the grooves and to engage the holes, as and forthe purpose set forth.

5. A folding table consisting of a top, inde pendent legs hingeddiagonally opposite each other on the under side thereof,diagonallyarranged plates 11 on the under side of the top, havinggrooves 10 and holes 12, and springbraces in the legs, held in place byplates 8, the outer ends of said braces having lugs 9, which slide inthe grooveswhen the legs are folded and engage the holes when set up tolock the legs in position.

6. A folding table consisting of independent legs hinged diagonallyopposite each other on the under side thereof, diagonallyarranged plateshaving grooves and transverse holes on the underside of the top,springbraces upon the legs. having lugs adapted to engage said groovesand said holes, and guards 13, which prevent the spring-braces frombeing disengaged fro m the grooves of the plates.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD F. BASSETT.

VVitn esses:

SAMUEL A. BASSETT, AUGUSTUS J. SCHNEIDER.

